As the much-ballyhooed vice presidential debate approaches, the anticipation of the event has nearly everyone in politics dispensing their two cents. Check back for updates!
Pit Bull: Mike Allen at the Politico says that Palin is likely to go on the attack tonight
The Palin camp is projecting surprising self-confidence in the pre-debate hours, despite the vice presidential nominee's uneven - and, at some points, peculiar - performances in recent television interviews, the officials say. Top advisers to John McCain privately say Palin's recent CBS interview was a borderline disaster, especially since it played out in several segments over several days. Tonight will be different, they say."This is going to finally put her back into a position where we see her like we saw her the first couple weeks," a McCain official said. "She was herself. She was authentic, and people related to that. ... Tonight, she'll get into a rhythm. You're going to see her in a way that you haven't seen her yet."
Tough Questions: As it often does before debates, the New York Times Op-Ed page today featured several questions various pundits would like to hear answered tonight at the debates
Senator Biden, do you believe that continued withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will lead to a newly ignited civil war?Governor Palin, since you were selected as a vice presidential candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given more press conferences to American reporters than you have. Why do you have less confidence in the American press and people than the president of Iran does? And when will you dare to face the press for real?
-- ANDREW SULLIVAN, a blogger for The Atlantic and the author of "The Conservative Soul"
Great Expectations: Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic says that Palin faces not just one set of expectations but several
The American public wants to know whether Gov. Palin has the stature to stand on the world stage with Biden, Obama and McCain, that she is not manifestly different; that she is exceptional.
Unengaged liberal Democrats are waiting for her to drag her knuckles across the stage.
Engaged liberal Democrats expect her to emote and preen, to be folksy and rural, to avoid substance.
In the McCain campaign: frankly, expectations are high -- perhaps nowhere higher. The weight of the world is on Gov. Palin; she needs to avoid mistakes, challenge Sen. Biden, help to turn the narrative of the race back to Barack Obama, and to recapture her public image.
Bristol Ball: And as if that weren't enough to worry about, psychics say that the stars are not aligned for Palin tonight
Joyce, whose website claims she was "born with the authentic gift of psychic ability," was one of a handful of prominent psychics Politico surveyed to get a better "sense" of how the Palin-Biden matchup might shake out. According to their occult minds, Biden has the edge and, ominously, the moon and stars are not aligned in Palin's favor.Deanna Fitzpatrick, a Reiki Master from Biden's home state of Delaware, also got the vibes the senator would win. Her psychic instincts tell her that during the debate, Palin "should take some pauses, instead of trying to answer too quickly. I think she's going to struggle at that. I think she's going to have a tendency to grab at things too quick and she just has to take her time."